Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed generally to poles or stands for intravenous drugs (commonly referred to as IV stands).
Description of the Related Art
A conventional IV stand has three components: a wheeled base, a push handle, and a hook assembly or attachment. Unfortunately, prior art IV stands suffer from many shortcomings.
For example, in a hospital, it is desirable for one person (e.g., a caregiver) to safely maneuver several (more than one in each hand) IV stands at once (e.g., down a hallway) to various locations. It is also desirable for one person (e.g., a janitor) to bring several IV stands to the same location at the same time (e.g., at the end of a day shift for cleaning and sanitizing). Unfortunately, prior art IV stands allow one person to safely move a maximum of two IV poles (one in each hand). This means multiple trips must be made, which take more time and, therefore, add expense.
At least one prior art IV stand (e.g., a SmartStack IV Stand manufactured by Maxtec or ALCO) includes a “towable” type base that requires a separate adapter to lock two of the IV stands together so that they may be towed or pushed together in a “controlled manner.” Multiple adaptors must be used to couple multiple IV stands together. Unfortunately, in hospitals, these adaptors are often lost and are therefore not used. When this occurs, controlled towing of the IV stands is not possible.
Further, patients connected to one or more of the bags mounted on an IV stand sometimes must walk and push the IV stand. Unfortunately, many prior art IV stands have symmetrical “star” shaped bases. Such star shaped bases include legs that extend outwardly radially from a center of the base. Depending on orientation of the IV stand, these legs can get in the way (e.g., of a patient walking next to the IV stand) and may create a trip hazard.
Additionally, conventional IV stands typically have a push handle that is not ergonomically designed. To use such handles, the user must twist his/her wrist, which may cause undo strain to the user's hand and/or wrist resulting in discomfort.
Conventional IV stands also position multiple IV bags such that some of the bags obscure labels on others of the bags. To read the labels, a caregiver must reposition the bags, which can be difficult if the bags are attached to a patient (e.g., by medication lines). Therefore, conventional IV stands may contribute to label reading errors and misidentification of the IV bags, which may pose a risk to the patient.
Therefore, a need exists for new IV stands. In particular, a need exists for an IV stand that does not require an adapter to interconnect two or more IV stands. An IV stand with a base that avoids interfering with the feet of a patient as the patient pushes the IV stand would be particularly desirable. A need also exists for a more ergonomically designed push handle. Additionally, a need exists for a hook attachment for an IV stand that makes it easier to read the labels on the IV bags. The present application provides these and other advantages as will be apparent from the following detailed description and accompanying figures.
Like reference numerals have been used in the figures to identify like components.